As I walked out in the streets of Laredo,
As I walked out in Laredo one day.
I spied a young cowboy all wrapped in white linen,
All wrapped in white linen, as cold as the clay.
"I can see by your outfit that you are a cowboy,"
These words he did say as I boldly walked by.
"Come sit down beside me and hear my sad story;
I am shot in the breast and I know I must die.
It was once in the saddle I used to go dashing
Once in the saddle I used to go gay
First to the card house and the down to Roses
But I'm shot in the breast and I'm dying today.
"Get six jolly cowboys to carry my coffin;
Six dance hall maidens to bear up my pall.
Throw bunches of roses all over my coffin,
Roses to deaden the sods when they fall.
Then beat the drum slowly play the fife lowly,
Play the dead march as you carry me along
Take me to the green valley, lay the sod oe'r me
I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong.
Then go write a letter to my gray haired mother
And tell her the cowboy that she loved is gone
But please not one word of the man who had killed me
Don't mention his name and his name will pass on.
When thus he had spoken the hot sun was setting
The streets of Laredo grew as cold as the clay
We took the young cowboy down to the green valley
And there stands his marker we made to this day
We beat the drum slowly, played the fife lowly
Played the dead march as we carried him along
Down to the green valley, laid the sod oe'r him
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